Peter Falk played America�s most unlikely police detective turned up on the scene and always managed to solve the crime by piecing together even the most minute fragments of evidence.
Famous killers included Leonard Nimoy, Patrick McGoohan, William Shatner, Dick VanDyke, and Janet Lee (the only person who ever got away with it).
Suspects were lulled into a false sense of security by his tramp�s raincoat, battered old car and well-chewed cigar. No-one believed this scruffy cop could nail them.
Often mentioned but never seen was Columbo�s wife, who even got her own spin-off series, Mrs. Columbo. She was played by Kate Mulgrew, who later became the captain of Star Trek: Voyager.